Universal Exports was the cover company for James Bond as he skulled around for “M” in “You Only Live Twice”….about Sato Industries……..a company supposedly seeking a new formula for Monosodium Glutamate. Sato actually was a front company for Hans Stavro Blofeld. The dark voiced, unseen man with the little white kitty with the diamond collar. The true mission was to capture US and Russian Spacecraft and cause World War III. We won’t spoil it and tell what happens in the end, but it includes the help of the Japanese Secret Service and its leader “Tiger”. Industrial espionage….was a big deal back in the 60’s!

Jonathan Pollard was a civilian Navy Intelligence gatherer….which gave most of our nuclear secrets to Israel. The details of his wrong doing have yet to see the light of day. The extent of the damage to the US Intelligence Community….was considered “incaluable”. Johnny is busy spending the rest of his like in prison for that inappropriate disclosure.

The list of paid spies, double agents and generally greed consumed Intelligence folks is long. The motivations for their wrong doing runs the gamut from just getting more money for a better life style to misguided political philosophical mental flashes. One thing is certain – they had all signed a Security Clearance Declaration before anything serious happened. It says basically that 20 years plus is guaranteed in a proscribed Federal Prison Facility awaits broaching any Top Secret info. Some people are exposed to Top Secret Security Clearances in the Military, in Government, in Intelligence Agencies, in Federal Contracted Sub-Contractors and makers of weaponry, military aircraft or naval vessels…..and the list is longer than you might think. Today….Computer Software, Hardware or the information contained within those vehicles….maybe considered critical information to the Security of the United States.

The WikiLeaks founder currently is residing in a Foreign Embassy seeking diplomatic immunity from prosecution, in another foreign country. How much damage has Wiki-Leaks done? Thousands and thousands of disclosed documents have been unceremoniously dumped into the public domain. Are they of any realtive value to our enemies? Maybe….or maybe not? The Government has not released that information. Will Julian Assange eventually avoid prosecution or be taken away in chains?

Fast Eddie Snowden it the latest in the list of Top Secret Revealers. Snowden is a natural born eclectic. Didn’t get a High School Diploma, said he served for a year in the CIA…..said he was in the Army Reserve but got booted out because he broke both legs in a training excerice. Snowden was an Intelligence Contractor for the National Security Agency. Snowden left for Hong Kong, but seems to be missing now. Did he get picked up by the Chinese Intelligence Agency? Did he make a deal with the Russian Security Service? Is he looking for a job with the Chinese or Russian Government? Does he just want to hold the US Government for ransom? Who knows? Why has Snowden decided to give up his $200K a year job and go public with the disclosure that “the government” and its PRISM program can target anyone’s information, phone call records, computer, click on any device. We thought they already were doing that!

Whatever happens to Snowden’s fate will send a definite message. One way or the other. If Snowden is not taken down, the walls of the various Security Agencies may fall like rain drops. If Snowden is taken down….there will be outcries of over zealous prosecution and chilling effects on so-called whistle blowers! The results will not be satisfying to most folks. The reality however is this: If you handle Top Secret Information as part of your job and you have signed a Security Declaration …. you should be held to your word. If you lie and disclose without authorization…..you go to jail. If you want to quit your high dollar job and tell a third party secrets that may endanger National Security……you better think twice about it. None dare call it treason……but when does it become treason? What was the moral, ethical and patriotic thing to do?

Fast Eddie Snowden! Threatening that he could do a lot of damage if he wanted to. Not so reassuring! But, as with James Bond….what you see may not be actually what you get. What could the real story be?

About Ron & Anna Winship

Independent News Producers/Writers and Directors for Parker-Longbow Productions. Independent Programming which includes a broad variety of Political, Entertainment and Professional Personalities. Cutting Edge - a talk show...is the flagship of over 30 URL websites developed or under development.
The Winships have been blogging for the Orange Juice since back when nickels had buffalos on them, and men wore onions attached to their belts, because it was the fashion back then.

47 Comments

*Ya see…..it goes something like this: You are working for a secret government agency. You ask around……what your boss thinks of what is going on to be sure all these things are being condoned. You call your Congressman and ask for a Private Confidential Meeting. You talk to the Congressman without disclosing the particulars, but the generalities. You ask to see his Security Clearance. You have him contact the appropriate committee of the Congress and Senate regarding Intelligence Operations. You then ask for an IG Inspection before releasing anything. If you are stonewalled……you quit your job immediately and go to the press with your complete story …of how you wanted to do it right. You write a letter to President and ask that he look into things regarding the general issues that you have outlined.

What you don’t do: Go public to British Tabloids. Make buddies of several high level Big Media Elites. Run away to a Foreign Country and contact more press. Disappear in the Foreign Country or Date Lindsay Lohan!

“If you handle Top Secret Information as part of your job and you have signed a Security Declaration …. you should be held to your word”

When our United States Government decides to stop lying and manipulating its citizens then that declaration means something…otherwise it’s nothing more than paper that can be used to line the bottom of my birdcage. We need MORE whistleblowers to come forward. And if you are wondering where he is…try watching CNN…he is giving interviews.

Our government just hates it when they are exposed as the lying, cheating, self-serving thieves they really are. And that goes for BOTH parties.

*Darling Inge……we repeat with fear of being redundant: We lost all our 4th Amendment protections in 1995….that is why they were able to release Windows 95. Mac had been sharing all their clicks since day one! If someone can make it….someone can read it.

Darling Ron & Anna…you know I adore both of you…whatever happened in 1995 does not mean we stop holding our government accountable for its actions. If we continue to allow our government to behave the way they seem to be…then we are living in a Totalitarian government and have no one to blame but ourselves.

Assuming that the NSA metadata program is legal (it does have a judge’s approval), and assuming that the BIG concern for most folks is the attempted SECRECY of the program, then this effort seems like a step in the right direction;

“Seeking to drag the shadowy world of U.S. national security law into the light, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed a bill that would declassify significant legal opinions reached by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The court is charged with approving intelligence agency requests for surveillance on suspected foreign agents.”

*Oh…so now you complain? A little late….wouldn’t you say? What happened after 9/11? You wanted to have FISA then…right? Oh, you didn’t? Well then, why didn’t you complain as bitterly? How about misuse of the IRS when George H.W. Bush and Clinton were there? Didn’t complain then either?

1995….yes, we are stuck on that Inge. You are screaming in vain about horses that have long left the barn. Supreme Court decisions in 1995 set the game up and made it possible for the Patriot Act….which allows the Feds to come into any situation……without restraint. You didn’t complain then? Why not?

This reminds us of beating the dog, because “someone” left the cooked chicken on the kitchen table.

Good grief people…get a grip. You just can’t go on and on beating those dead horses….and thinking you can ever make a difference ….doing so.

Anon’s been on this blog as long as you, and was a staunch opponent of Bush’s abuses.

Inge

Posted June 11, 2013 at 8:03 PM

actually… I didn’t fall for that “the government is here to protect you crap”…so you are not talking to me and neither did a lot of people. I lived in San Francisco during 9/11 and I was out in the streets along with 100s of other protestors…so I don’t believe you are talking to me.

Anon, I do believe this is one subject we agree on. I thought Kangaroos were boxers. I looked up the origin and here is what I came up…

“There is some debate over the origin of the term kangaroo court, but some sources suggest that it may have been popularized during the California Gold Rush of 1849, as a description of the hastily carried-out proceedings used to deal with the issue of claim jumping miners.[2] Other sources claim that the term comes from the notion of justice proceeding “by leaps”, like a kangaroo.[3] The phrase is considered an Americanism and is still in common use” — Wikipedia

So I guess Ron and Anna will roll over on this fight…clutching their AK47s…now that’s a fight worth fighting

*You guys are so yesterday. We have been following “Three Days of Condor” for close to 35 years now. Look back at history or you will be required to repeat it…little doubt. You sit there and act as if government intrusion into our lives just started five minutes ago. Andrew Jackson and Lincoln were terrible, even US Grant……they had that intel thing down to a fine science. Our whole country has been based on it starting with George Washington and the Adams boys. No, technology does not change character. It just changes the methods employed. So, you can get off that “Ron & Anna will roll over and cling to their muskets” routine. Reality is a hard master and by the time the Fast Eddie story comes to the Silver Screen you can be sure the government will know everything they ever wanted to know about all of us.

Inge, thanks for getting out on the streets of SF. That must have been a bunch of fun!

Ron and Anna…it was fun…SF is the only place I know that pretty much has a protest daily…the city depends on them for the revenue from all the permits. The Muni bus passengers were a mix of regular people, those coming and going to work and protestors (they always had signs)…the tourists loved it! I could get to any protest within 40 minutes…for a buck-fifty!

“I can tell you that, at least in Russia, you cannot just go and tap into someone’s phone conversation without a warrant issued by court,” Putin said answering the question of RT’s Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan.

“That’s more or less the way a civilized society should go about fighting terrorism with modern-day technology. As long as it is exercised within the boundaries of the law that regulates intelligence activities, it’s alright. But if it’s unlawful, then it’s bad.”

Commenting on Obama’s statement that “You can’t have 100 per cent security and 100 per cent privacy,” Putin disagreed, saying it is possible if done within the law.

In addition NSA nor CIA is not authorized by the law to collect any data on the USA citizens [Emphases added]

Obviously you are so stupid that you even do not understand the issue at hand.

Therefore, I am legally advising you Onan to contact an attorney to represent you in this matter.

The Esq. Greg Diamond would suffice….. Get an advise!

anon

Posted June 12, 2013 at 1:41 PM

Actually, it is YOU that is wrong. There IS a court order approving the program, and it can collect metadata on any Verizon customer. As this article states,

“Intelligence experts said the government, though not listening in on calls, would be looking for patterns that could lead to terrorists — and that there was every reason to believe similar orders were in place for other phone companies.”

The court approval is for the collection of metadata. In order for the NSA to take that data and, say, order a wiretap, they STILL have to separately go to the FISA Court for a warrant. It’s a two-stage process.

Greg Diamond

Posted June 12, 2013 at 1:47 PM

By the way, I have deleted one or two Stanley comments which were inappropriate for this venue, so he may have replied to you.

The distinction is: there is no warrantless WIRETAPPING — i.e., listening to the contents of electronic conversation or accessing the contents of e-mail (with certain exceptions) without a warrant.

There is, however, warrantless collection of METADATA — and apparently on a grand scale. Not illegal; also not popular or wise.

anon

Posted June 12, 2013 at 1:58 PM

Greg, isn’t the court approval of the NSA program to collect metadata essentially, or at least in effect, the same as a warrant?

Greg Diamond

Posted June 12, 2013 at 10:44 PM

No, I don’t think so. I think that the idea is that metadata is “in plain sight” — like the information on the outside of an envelope, like where you drive, like what you throw into the trash. Pursuing such material is considered to be surveillance rather than search — there’s no privacy interest in it if it’s publicly available — so it’s not protected by the Fourth Amendment. One can argue that phone call and e-mail metadata is not actually in plain sight, but the USA PATRIOT Act (or some law before it or ruling after it, I forget which) says that it is. So, no warrant required unless you “open the envelope.”

The following speech was delivered to the Anaheim city council on 06/11/13.
Maybe it might shed light on this man’s concern.

From 1992 to 2005, I worked as an embedded systems engineer on surveillance projects primarily for business and law enforcement interests in Colombia. Via hardware and software, it was my job to think about how to catch those engaged in the acts of property theft and kidnapping. In other words, an engineer working in our little corner of the surveillance state.

Back in the 90’s, one of our business problems was convincing potential clients that we could actually do what we claimed. In light of all that is being discussed today, I suspect that this is no longer a problem.

I hear my fellow Americans ask “If I’m not doing anything wrong why should I care if I’m tracked or if my communications are being collected and stored.” Besides all the obvious reasons that seemed to have escaped you, here’s one reason that might motivate you to reconsider your position. While travelling through the valley of the surveillance state, I discovered that way to many members of our law enforcement community are behaving in an unscrupulous manner; behavior as bad as it gets. Doing something wrong is not the only qualification for finding yourself in the surveillance cross hairs. And the hubris and arrogance with which these men practice this most dangerous craft could be called brilliant and impressive if it were not so evil and un-American.

And when you turn to politicians and others in law enforcement who keep telling you that if you ever need help just contact us – one of whom is a senior member of a committee charged with overseeing the Department of Homeland security – well that’s almost a separate story itself. You are going to find that the people who are supposed to be a check and balance appear to care more about their Orange County lifestyle than just about anything else.

So that’s why you should be concerned.

The surveillance state is such a dangerous resource, it can sometimes mindlessly turn around and eat itself with no apparent need to even apologize – as if it can’t even process the damage it causes – as is there is no mind or conscience behind it. Except, there are minds behind it and what appears as a lack of conscience is just good old-fashioned greed.

Don’t let the prediction of a former Soviet union leader come true – that we would destroy ourselves from within.

*Every click….every deposit…every purchase…..every change of location….every minute you spend in your car…..every time you stay in a hotel…..every time you eat in a restaurant…….every time you eat fast food. Every time you gas up your car. Would you say….those are just in the “starter kit”? Well, we knew that. We have seen “Enemy of the State”…..about 20 times!

*Julius and Ethel……where are you now that we need you? Sacco & Vanzetti…real Anarchists or simply Anachists in name only? Traitors? How about John Walker? Benedict Arnold…..Phillip Nolan? John Walker Lindh?
Jonathan Pollard? Aldrich Ames? Fast Eddie Snowden?

Somebody broke their Security Declaration and people died because of it.

*Fast Eddie Snowden is the Jody Arias of the Intelligence Community. He is not an American. He is an Internationalist……seeking news coverage in 15 of the major countries…..as getting it at this point. He broke serious laws in this country and he is no different that those so-called Sunshine Patriots that take their profits and put them into Foreign untaxable and unknown accounts. He should be prosecuted to the limit of the laws he has broken….and soon.

*The Snowden Chronicles: Hong Kong, Moscow…….what next bucko? If Ecuador takes this Jodie Arias look alike in…….we should close all their Embassies in the United States and ask that all our Allied partners in NATO – do the same!